Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying."Rejoicing, patience and praying. For us to rejoice we must find that confident hope in Christ. When we are confident in Him we can rejoice in any manner or circumstance. When trouble hits, patience is usually the last thing I pick up. I choose fear and anger instead. But when I choose to pick up patience there is a perfect peace within it that nothing can touch. For me to rejoice in everything, to have confidence and hope, to be patient in all that surrounds me I find I must keep praying. Without prayer I cannot obtain these values that will carry me through each day. Prayer brings peace to our impatience. Hope brings confidence to our uncertainty.
We seem to think patience is hard to gather. And it is when we are busy gathering all the emotions that rock us into craziness. We do, don't we? We seem to pick up anger, resentment, fear, anxiety, pain, hurt. They fall come tumbling in like it's a party for everyone. Only these qualities do not add anything to our life, but simply take away more and more as we give them room to enter. We need to close the door to all these emotions that drag us down, and simply open the door to all the comfort, peace and refreshing hope the Lord is wanting to wash us with. Why don't we pick those up? I think when we do we feel as though in letting go we are letting go of any control we have. But my friends, the only thing we have control over in life is our attitude and our actions. God is in total control. We can choose to believe this fact or not, but whether we believe it or not it is still so. Praise God, He is in control of my life. Just think if I really was. Wow, what a mess I would be in. Usually I am one of those fixers. Yes, those that think they have the answer and know just what to do to make things all better. But when this girl sticks her foot in where it should not be, well, things only get worse. I am learning to just step back and allow God to move and to do so in His time. He not only can give us perfect peace, but He has perfect timing.
I am still a work in progress and through that progress I am learning that prayer draws me near to God. Fear moves me away. Hope in Him brings sheer peace to my life. While if I allow anxiety to take over, I am lost in my fear again. There is no fear in faith. In simply opening my hands to God and giving Him everything I have, I am trusting Him. In that trust is peace. In that peace there is a continued prayer, ongoing, for Him to wash me in His hope, His peace, His comfort, His strength, His love, His wisdom. When I change my attitude to look more like His, well, life is just more simple. It doesn't matter what circumstance comes. It doesn't matter what life throws at us. If we just place our trust in God, He will care for us. He will not only meet our needs, but He will add those extra blessings in where we were not looking.
Faith grows. It starts as a seed and just kind of sprouts up. Within that sprout you begin to see a little bud. The Son shines down and that little bud receives all it needs to grow and now it begins to blossom. To reach that full blossom it needs all the Sonlight possible. As the rains come, it only adds to it's beauty.
Wherever you are today, let go of that fear and pick up hope. Open your hands and allow God to take those burdens and grief and fill you with His perfect peace and comfort. His strength will carry you through. He is the keeper of our hearts. In those restless nights where we toss and turn, may we get on our knees and call out to Him, trusting Him. Obeying Him, and allowing Him to do a work in us.
In the craziness of the day may we find ourselves still, calling upon Him and allowing Him to calm us. In our stillness He can do a mighty work. In our quietness His glory seems to shout so others can see. Whatever you are facing today, you are not alone. You can find a strength bigger than you ever knew existed in Him. You can find a peace that will outlast any trial in the Lord above. Prayer is our life line to God. We can find Him in those great moments cheering us on and in those moments we are uncertain of? He can wash all the fear away and calm us with His love.
